Yahoo Finance Increases to CEO Compensation Might Be Put On Hold For Now at Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI)
Key Insights
Viad will host its Annual General Meeting on 15th of May
Total pay for CEO Steve Moster includes US$927.0k salary
The overall pay is 54% above the industry average
Viad's three-year loss to shareholders was 14% while its EPS grew by 127% over the past three years
In the past three years, the share price of Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) has struggled to generate growth for its shareholders. What is concerning is that despite positive EPS growth, the share price has not tracked the trend in fundamentals. These are some of the concerns that shareholders may want to bring up at the next AGM held on 15th of May. Voting on resolutions such as executive remuneration and other matters could also be a way to influence management. We discuss below why we think shareholders should be cautious of approving a raise for the CEO at the moment.
View our latest analysis for Viad
Comparing Viad Corp's CEO Compensation With The Industry
At the time of writing, our data shows that Viad Corp has a market capitalization of US$731m, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$7.0m for the year to December 2023. That's a notable increase of 11% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$927k.
In comparison with other companies in the American Commercial Services industry with market capitalizations ranging from US$400m to US$1.6b, the reported median CEO total compensation was US$4.5m. Hence, we can conclude that Steve Moster is remunerated higher than the industry median. Furthermore, Steve Moster directly owns US$4.5m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.
Component | 2023 | 2022 | Proportion (2023) |
Salary | US$927k | US$927k | 13% |
Other | US$6.1m | US$5.4m | 87% |
Total Compensation | US$7.0m | US$6.3m | 100% |
On an industry level, around 22% of total compensation represents salary and 78% is other remuneration. Viad sets aside a smaller share of compensation for salary, in comparison to the overall industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.
A Look at Viad Corp's Growth Numbers
Over the past three years, Viad Corp has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 127% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 3.4% over the last year.
This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..
Has Viad Corp Been A Good Investment?
Since shareholders would have lost about 14% over three years, some Viad Corp investors would surely be feeling negative emotions. So shareholders would probably want the company to be less generous with CEO compensation.
To Conclude...
Despite the growth in its earnings, the share price decline in the past three years is certainly concerning. A huge lag in share price growth when earnings have grown may indicate there could be other issues that are affecting the company at the moment that the market is focused on. If there are some unknown variables that are influencing the stock's price, surely shareholders would have some concerns. At the upcoming AGM, shareholders will get the opportunity to discuss any issues with the board, including those related to CEO remuneration and assess if the board's plan will likely improve performance in the future.
CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. That's why we did our research, and identified 2 warning signs for Viad (of which 1 is significant!) that you should know about in order to have a holistic understanding of the stock.
Switching gears from Viad, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
